Loyola Greyhound

Issue date: 11/13/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Kat Kienle Marquis Sullivan finished with 16 points against Towson.

Jimmy Patsos speaks his mind to an official during the Towson game.

By Dave Lomonico
Sports Editor

It's opening night, the Towson Tigers are in their home gym and the Loyola students outnumber the Towson faithful. Sure, the alumni section was packed, but, as alumni are apt to do, they sat there, perhaps offering a polite golf course cheer every few minutes.

Towson may have been picked to finish last in the Colonial Athletic Conference, but when the "student section" consists of a "Go Tigers" sign, a dude in a Tiger suit and maybe 25 scattered yellow shirts on opening night, something's wrong. It had to be a little disturbing for the Tigers players. They were being berated by Loyola fans before the opening tip.

The Loyola fans didn't have much to cheer about in the first 10 minutes, besides a pair of free throws by Gerald Brown and Omari Isreal. After the initial barrage of "defense" and "you [stink]" pregame chants, Hounds fans dutifully shut up as Loyola trailed 16-4. The intensity picked up as Gerald Brown started draining threes and Loyola cut their deficit to less than five points late in the first half. Welcome to Reitz Arena II, complete with the Marching Flock's Greatest Hits.

"[The student support] was outstanding; that was super impressive," Patsos said.

Justice was served on this day, however. The Tigers got the last laugh in the end … for the second year in a row.

Of course, the small throng of Towson hecklers used the occassion to get on coach Jimmy Patsos and Co. I don't know what was said, but there was quite a stir on the Loyola bench.

Too bad the Loyola players didn't respond to their "home" crowd. They were rusty, and the Towson students had a chance to gloat at the end of the game with a surprisingly audible, "hey, hey, hey, good-bye."

The Loyola crowd was forced to take the walk of shame, and that 4-mile drive back to Evergreen took just a bit longer. So much for revenge.

"We let our fans down, but we'll be back," Patsos said.

***

It's hard to take anything from one game, but the way to beat the Greyhounds this year may be to slow the game down as much as possible. Teams know the Hounds want to run; Loyola feeds off the momentum created by their quickness. Just look at what they did to Penn.

But in the half court, they had trouble running the flex and converting on jump shots against a tough 1-3-1 zone defense. That should be worked out as Joe Miles develops and the team works out the early-season kinks.

"One game does not a season make," Patsos said.

Thank you, Yoda.

***

Seems like Patsos the Philosopher is trying to be Patsos the Pacifist as well. He said before the season no four-letter words would come across his lips. Now, I thought he was joking, but after the game, the first thing Patsos addressed was the technical foul he was slapped with.

"That technical foul was not mine," Patsos said. "Now that I said that, I feel better."

This is quite a turnaround for a guy that's been known to ask referees for technical fouls. I guess he's really making a concerted effort to live up to the whole Jesuit motto thing. Nice going, coach.

***

Now Towson did just fine without their star from last year, Gary Neal. Nevertheless, I miss the grudge match between Neal and Brown from last year's game. In a heavyweight battle that lived up to its billing, Neal dropped in 33 points at Reitz Arena to get the best of Brown (26 points) and Loyola.

But even with the Loyola loss, it was great theater, unlike this year's game, which lacked drama and was rank with turnovers. If Gary Neal versus Gerald Brown is like watching the classic Ali-Frasier fight, then Gerald Brown minus Gary Neal is like watching a modern day George Foreman trade punches with a modern day Evander Holyfield.

***

Scanning the Tigers' roster, one last name will certainly stick out: Durant. Yes, Kevin's little bro Tony found his way into the starting lineup for the Tigers. But after watching Tony hit iron on his first two shot attempts after being manhandled by Brown, it became pretty obvious why he's not suting up for the Longhorns.

That being said, he wasn't too bad on the defensive end, and he should be solid in the middle for the Tigers. However, one can't help but wonder if Tony may be reaping the benefits of his surname.

"I really don't pay attention to [the media hype], just because my brother's in the NBA," Tony Durant said. "I don't worry about it."

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools